What others have said about
Hon. James O. Browning

Comments

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 24318
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
He should win the first Edward R. Becker Memorial Award for Juristic Obfuscation and Prolixity. We call him "Judge Cut-and-Paste. Absurdly long opinions in relatively simple matters. You would think his law clerks would have to be working 100-hour weeks, until you do a search on an issue, and out pop 20 Browning opinions with the exact same language, sentence and paragraph structure, and citations to authority. He's obviously no dummy, but it takes a lawyer too long to read his opinions, or to know which one of a dozen that all say the same thing to cite in a brief.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: 21751
Rating:8.5 Comments:
Holds a hearing and issues a written opinion -- usually 50-100 pages, not joking -- on all contested motions.

Civil:
*Does not get involved in settlement negotiations. At all. Believes that knowing about it will taint his judgment.
*Handles all discovery disputes and scheduling.

Criminal:
*I think he's pro-Government, but you rarely see it. He's patient and understanding with criminal defense lawyers, and kind to the defendants.
*He's a lenient sentencing judge, for a conservative, by which I mean (1) the Guidelines are draconian, and (2) he won't throw them out entirely, but will almost always sentence at the bottom of the range and often varies a level or two down.
*Follows the Gov't on 5K1.1s.
*Will do fast-track on reentry cases, but well-known to not be a fan of the way the program is administered.

General:
*Evidence decisions tend towards letting most stuff in.
*Relatedly, let's you make almost any argument that isn't straight-up nullification to the jury.
*Very good demeanor.
*Very smart; was a Supreme Court clerk and, I believe, #1 in his class at UVA.
*Takes FOREVER to get an opinion to you.
*Actually reviews the work of the magistrates on dispositives; which is good if the MJ ruled against you, bad if he ruled for you.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 7563
Rating:9.7 Comments:
Very hardworking, very well-prepared, and an excellent demeanor. He remembers what it's like to be a practicing lawyer. This judge handles his own discovery and initial pretrial conferences in civil cases. Sometimes he gets behind in his work, as he tends to write long opinions.